How to write an Effective Facebook Post

Eighty percent of U.S. businesses use a Facebook account to support their online marketing efforts and increase their search engine page rank, but research shows that many of them are not leveraging the platform optimally. (1) Each marketing channel has its own unique benefits particular to its format, but a business will often mistakenly treat all social media sites the same; usually, the business will use the same post on each of its sites rather than tailoring messages to each account. This is a mistake.

Facebook's particular strengths stem from encouraging current customers to vocalize support or criticism by driving the comments, likes, enthusiasm and consensus that maintain and grow the consumer-business emotional connection. Conversely, Twitter's marketing niche is an effective public relations tool that helps a business achieve maximum visibility and can even help connect journalists with mass media attention. Each social media platform has advantages that cover a narrow range. Thus one post could not maximize each platform's strengths and would not leverage enough social media benefits. Taking just a few minutes to spin each post to fit appropriately for either a Facebook post, tweet or pin will make a big difference.

Select language in offer posts carefully:

As a medium for promoting offers, a business can leverage Facebook's value with carefully selected word choices. According to research from Sales Force Marketing Cloud, a post that includes the following terms yields a lower consumer engagement:

$ off

clearance

percent off

sweepstakes

coupon

Other posts increased consumer interaction by between 42 and 68 percent using the following: (2)

$ OFF

giveaway

win

winner

Even a word's capitalization -- "$ OFF" instead of "$ off" -- can change the public's perception and encourage a different level of interaction.

Ask for a call-to-action

Increase consumer engagement with plain requests, such as:

Like this

Place a caption here

Make a comment

For the same reason that social media works by nurturing an emotional connection and sense of belonging, the customer benefits from engagement and only needs a push to participate. Pressing the "Like" button is the most common form, while comments, polls and other actions compose the rest. Know your audience, as some brands benefit more from using subtle call-to-action language.

Timing is key

A Facebook post published between 8 p.m. and 7 a.m. engages 20 percent more users than one appearing during standard business hours. Post frequency has also been studied, and most businesses yield highest success with a rate of one post a day.

Keep it brief

A post that has 80 characters or fewer will increase Facebook response by 66 percent. Most users have a casual and light attitude and enjoy multiple, quick interactions. It is essential to make short powerful statements to penetrate the buzz from modern information overload.

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